Nicotine/Vaping Health Educator

Howard County•Howard, MD

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

This Community Health Educator I position provides support for the Howard County Health Department (HCHD) Bureau of Assessment, Planning and Community Engagement (APC). Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, planning, developing, teaching, and evaluating health education initiatives related to youth vaping to youth and adults as part of the Juul settlement funds, and establishing partnerships with key organizations. This position is also required to respond to public health emergencies and to be part of an inclement weather essential personnel rotation. Program activities will necessitate evening and weekend hours on occasion. Therefore, the employee must work with the Supervisor to adjust the weekly schedule when necessary to attend community events. This position is eligible for hybrid telework schedule.

Requirements

Education : A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Public Health Education, Community Health Education or Health Science.
Experience : None.
Notes : 1. Candidates may substitute a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a minimum of 18 credit hours in Public Health Education, Community Health Education, Health Science or related behavioral science and one year of experience in planning, developing, implementing and promoting health education projects for the required education. 2. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a commissioned officer in Health Educator and Community Health classifications or Health Educator and Community Health specialty codes in the Public Health field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required education.
Employees in this classification may be assigned duties which require the operation of a motor vehicle. Employees assigned such duties will be required to possess a motor vehicle operator’s license valid in the State of Maryland

Nice To Haves

Bilingual in Spanish.
Experience working with schools, youth organizations, and/or community coalitions.
Experience with public speaking and presentation including delivering engaging educational sessions to youth, parents, and community partners.
Experience related to nicotine addiction, current e-cigarette trends (e.g., JUUL, vape pens), and the impact of vaping on adolescent health.
Experience designing, implementing, and evaluating youth-focused health education programs, preferably related to tobacco or nicotine use prevention.
Experience utilizing social media and digital tools for health promotion and youth engagement.

Responsibilities

Nicotine/Vaping Education and Outreach: Assist with planning, developing and presenting interactive, evidence-based nicotine/vaping prevention programs in the community tailored to youth and adults; Assist with utilizing community health data and evidence-based practices and models to stay current on emerging trends in nicotine/vaping products and health risks associated with use among youth; Assist with incorporating culturally relevant materials to address health disparities in nicotine/vaping use among priority youth populations; Assist with developing and implementing needs assessments, surveys, and evaluations to determine needs and measure the impact of nicotine/vaping prevention programs; Assist with maintaining accurate records, prepares reports, and assists with grant writing for program funding proposals; Assist with developing and providing nicotine/vaping health education, presentations, trainings and represents HCHD at community partner events and outreach events to the public with a focus on priority populations in coordination with Supervisor, Local Health Improvement Coalition (LHIC), and other Bureaus; Reviews and complies with program-specific (or bureau-specific) policies, procedures, program manuals and standing orders (if applicable) and provides feedback for quality improvement as requested.
Community Liaison: Serves as a liaison between local health departments, HCHD bureaus, schools, and community-based organizations to coordinate and implement nicotine/vaping prevention efforts; Participates in relevant state and local coalitions to reduce youth access to nicotine/vaping products (e.g., Tobacco 21 laws, flavor bans); Cultivates and maintains cooperative relationships with a variety of HCHD Bureaus and partner organizations, for the purpose of planning, developing, implementing, coordinating, and evaluating nicotine/vaping programmatic efforts and services; Seeks/facilitates opportunities for engaging new partners to better reach youth impacted by nicotine/vaping.
Other Duties: Possesses a broad understanding of HCHD services and can refer to other programs; Participates in necessary drills and exercises, responds to emergencies as appropriate, keeps abreast of policies and procedures in the program, bureau and department; Completes all required trainings; Participates in quality improvement efforts within the program.